His vision burned crimson red. Red Dragon Agreos boiled with rage throughout his entire body, laying waste to the surrounding land without mercy. The lush forest that had been thick with vegetation just minutes before turned into a barren wasteland in an instant after his rampage.

Still unsatisfied, Agreos let out a mighty roar and spewed lava-like dragon breath in all directions. Massive holes opened in the earth wherever his breath touched. Mountains and fields crumbled to dust without leaving even ashes behind.

Dragons are naturally highly intelligent beings called the essence of magic. For such a dragon to lose reason and rampage so savagely was an extraordinarily rare occurrence, barely found in history.

But Red Dragon Agreos had been a heretic among dragonkind from the beginning.

Instead of honing mana like other dragons, he craved raw power. Rather than remaining a noble being who pursued knowledge, he crushed the temperate great forest with force and ruled over it like an arrogant tyrant.

For him, ‘power’ was justice—it was everything in the world.

Nothing else mattered.

But the reign of this tyrannical dragon came to an abrupt and meaningless end one day without warning.

Because of a single lycanthrope that appeared to block his path.

The wolf monster, several times larger than others of its kind and seemingly born with alpha qualities, revealed an extraordinary aura and spoke.

[Hand over this land. This place suits my companion better than you.]

[Companion?]

[That’s right. My companion is human and gets cold easily.]

How dare it demand he surrender the territory he ruled over!

And for the sake of some primitive, weak human…!

There was no room for negotiation. Immediately, a fierce battle erupted between the lycanthrope and the Red Dragon.

The fangs and claws of two massive, powerful beings cut through the wind and shook the earth. Ancient trees caught in the fray were crushed like moss, and the flow of rivers changed course from the devastation. Unrealistic destructive power burst forth in all directions, like massive tornadoes and thunderclouds colliding.

But in the moment when dust kicked up by the impact obscured vision, the lycanthrope’s sharp fangs pierced through Agreos’s thick scales and bit into his neck.

[Graaah!]

His carelessness in dismissing it as merely a wolf bewitched by some human had created an opening for the ambush.

[You coward…!]

But toward Agreos, who erupted in fiery rage, the giant wolf only grinned and said:

[What cowardice? You’re just stupid.]

Fierce exchanges continued after that. Though Agreos’s attacks were effective, the lycanthrope cleverly and nimbly targeted only his weak points and blind spots. Wounds accumulated on the dragon’s sturdy body.

Then the ground beneath Agreos collapsed when his center of balance crumbled, and he fell into the swift-flowing river.

[This…!]

Agreos tried to escape from the water immediately. But at that moment—

[!]

A debuff spell that flew from somewhere ambushed him, binding Agreos’s limbs. Agreos immediately realized it was the combined power of the great forest’s inhabitants whom he had tyrannized. If he had been on land, he would have counterattacked instantly, but his movements weren’t free underwater.

[Damn it…!]

And so he was helplessly swept away by the rapids.

When he regained consciousness, he had already been washed down to unfamiliar land.

He could feel that almost no life force remained in his body—he had lost too much blood while being swept by the river. But that fact couldn’t stop Agreos’s mad rampage.

‘How dare they reduce me, the tyrannical dragon Agreos, to this state…!’

He laid waste to his surroundings, pouring out his rage like vomiting up his last remaining life. He didn’t care what happened to the life in this land. Everything was merely a sacrifice for venting his anger.

But then—

[?]

Something glittering caught his eye, which had been dyed red like blood and couldn’t distinguish anything clearly.

It didn’t take long to realize it was a magic circle deployed by a human.

[Human…!]

Remembering that a human had provided the catalyst for this entire situation, Agreos charged savagely at the human who had fearlessly revealed themselves before him, ready to pour out all his fury. He wanted nothing more than to tear apart that fragile-looking body and soak the earth with its blood.

But just before his fangs could sink into the human’s soft flesh—

“A dragon choosing brawling over magic, how absurd.”

The human woman, muttering in a tone of disbelief, tilted the staff she held—one much taller than herself. The bronze-colored staff, made from twisted ancient wood branches, had small magic stones hanging instead of leaves that clinked together with a chiming sound.

“ᚠᚱᛟᛋᛏᛒᛁᛏᛂ (Freeze).”

With the incantation, blue energy burst from her magic circle and swirled around like sleet. Everything turned white and froze in an instant, like the winter goddess’s robes had brushed past.

Agreos couldn’t escape the freezing effect either. White frost settled on his red scales.

An ordinary dragon could easily break free from this level of binding magic, but unfortunately, Agreos had no connection to magic.

Being born a dragon gave him high mana affinity, but that was all. No matter how good one’s natural talent, it becomes meaningless without honing one’s abilities—it was exactly the same principle.

The woman looked down at the dragon frozen with its mouth agape before her and deployed lethal magic without hesitation. An ominous crimson magic circle manifested beneath her feet.

Seeing that chilling aura, Agreos sensed his own death.

‘To think I would die to a mere human…!’

His insides felt like they would turn over from rage and resentment.

But his life had been hanging by a thread to begin with. He didn’t even have the strength left to breathe dragon fire.

But at that moment, the woman’s mysterious amethyst-like purple eyes turned toward his tattered neck.

“?”

Upon discovering Agreos’s wounds, she seemed surprised.

“……”

After pondering something briefly, the woman appeared to make a decision and muttered something. Following each of her words, the magic circle’s color changed from red to teal like washing away paint.

[?]

Watching this, Agreos looked puzzled. Fortunately, his confusion was resolved before long.

“ᚷᛇᛁᛚ (Gale).”

With a simple incantation, tornado-like wind power gathered at the tip of the staff she held.

“Let’s have you take a little nap first.”

Saying this, she borrowed the condensed wind power and struck Agreos’s cheek hard with the staff head.

[Gaaah!]

The Red Dragon’s face turned to the side. It happened in an instant.

But for Agreos, that moment of being struck felt eternally long.

The moment when strong, pure power struck him mercilessly—

The human woman’s image burned into his retinas with strange clarity and permanence.

Gem-like glittering purple eyes. Eye corners that drooped indifferently and languidly. Abundant light purple hair braided over one shoulder, and a mysterious yet beautiful impression that made even her slightly tired expression create an enchanting atmosphere. Even her haughty gaze that looked down on him like he was pathetic.

Seeing her beauty, like a dragon’s polymorph, his heart began pounding in a completely different way than before.

Feeling this, Agreos was certain:

‘This pounding… it must be from anger.’

Of course it was.

There was no other reason for his heart to race toward a mere human.

***

“Hmm.”

Diana Mortiel, the Magical Corps leader of the Squill Kingdom, stood leaning against her desk with arms crossed, her face clearly showing difficulty. She was currently in the laboratory in her house’s basement.

Before her lay a massive n*ked man sprawled on the floor. Since she couldn’t possibly find clothes to fit his build, she had temporarily covered just his lower half with rough cloth.

Hair red like fire and a thick, muscular body as magnificent as a stallion’s, with clearly defined sections like carved stone. His height seemed to easily exceed 190 centimeters.

If he stood properly, knights of considerable build would all be overwhelmed by his presence.

The identity of this man with a sculptural body and masculine facial features was none other than the polymorph of the Red Dragon who had been spewing dragon breath everywhere and causing trouble just hours ago.

Of course, it wasn’t a polymorph performed by his own will. To forcibly humanize the dragon, Diana had to use two truly precious magic stones.

‘What possessed me to do such a crazy thing…’

Diana was belatedly regretting the impulsive act she had committed.

At first, she had also intended to mercilessly subjugate the rampaging dragon. But the moment she saw the Red Dragon’s wretched state, she empathized with his situation and couldn’t bring herself to eliminate him without question.

Diana was the kingdom’s strongest mage.

She was also in a position no different from the king’s slave.

“If Your Majesty would bestow the kingdom’s treasure upon me, I will devote lifelong loyalty to Your Majesty…!”

Those were the words young Diana, fresh from academy graduation, had spoken to the king with a heart-wrenching desperation.